Russia or Russian Federation, Rus. Rossiya, republic (1995 est. pop. 149,909,000), 6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km). The country is bounded by Norway and Finland in the northwest; by Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine in the west; by Georgia and Azerbaijan in the southwest; and by Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China along the southern land border. The Kaliningrad Region is an exclave on the Baltic Sea bordered by Lithuania and Poland. Moscow is the capital and largest city.

In its political meaning, the term Russia applies to the Russian Empire until 1917, to the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) from 1917 to 1991, and to the Russian Federation since 1991 (as well as to main constituent republic in the Russian Federation). The name also is often used informally to mean the whole of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); the Russia Federation was established in 1991 when the USSR disintegrated and the former RSFSR became an independent nation. The term Russia also is used to designate the area inhabited by the Russian people as distinguished from other Eastern Slavs and from non-Slavic peoples.

Russia — the largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates for agriculture (either too cold or too dry). Formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance also hinder exploitation of natural resources

Summary

	Total Area	6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km)
	Land	99.54%
	Water	0.46%
	Coastline	23396.49 mi (37,653 km)
	Terrain	broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
	Natural resources	wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
	Population	145,470,197 (July 2001 est.)
	Dominating religion	Russian Orthodox
	Official language	Russian
	Government type	federation
	Capital	Moscow
	Independence	August 24, 1991 (from Soviet Union)
	National holiday	Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
	Constitution	adopted 12 December 1993
	Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
	Chief of state	President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)
	Currency	Russian Ruble (RUR)
	Currency code	RUR
	Internet country code	ru
	Time offset	GMT+03:00hr
	Time format	24 hour
	Measure units	metric
	Electrical standard	AC220V, 50Hz, single-phase; the plug is the two-pin thin European standard
	Traffic	right-side